Florida State has announced Mike Norvell as its next head football coach. There are plenty of things to like about Norvell taking over the Seminoles program, but also a few legitimate questions that won't be fully answered for months.
ASK FARRELL: Was Lane Kiffin the right choice for Ole Miss?
WHY NORVELL WILL WORK OUT AT FLORIDA STATE
HIS OFFENSE HOLDS UP AGAINST POWER FIVE DEFENSES
The sample size here is small obviously. Norvell led Memphis against Power Five teams just seven times during his time at the helm, with the Tigers going 2-5 in those contests but averaging 31.5 points per game. The numbers aren’t bad for a program working with limited resources and nestled in a less-than-ideal location for recruiting. The fact that his system has been successful everywhere, including during stops as an offensive coordinator in the ACC (Pitt) and Pac-12 (Arizona State), should encourage a fanbase desperate for an offensive overhaul.
HE'S YOUNG ENOUGH TO RELATE TO RECRUITS
Youth as it relates to recruiting is often overvalued, but the 38-year old Norvell seems to know how to leverage it to his advantage. His player-friendly approach clearly plays well in South Florida. Just ask Lane Kiffin, who quickly won over area high school coaches and recruits in the region with his demeanor. If Florida State is to return to prominence, it will need to have more success in Dade and Broward counties, where it struggled under Willie Taggart. This will probably fall more on the shoulders of Norvell’s staff, but having a youthful face in the big chair won’t hurt.
IT'S HARD TO ARGUE WITH HIS RECORD
Florida State took some criticism over Taggart’s sub-.500 head coaching record when it hired him two years ago. There will be no such narrative this time around. Norvell rides into Tallahassee with a 38-15 overall record and is coming off of an AAC Championship. For better or for worse, FSU’s second hire in three years is the polar opposite of its first. That’s likely by design, as Novell can sell his past success on the recruiting trail whereas Taggart had to ask prospects for a bit of faith in his plan.
TWO REASONS WHY HE MIGHT NOT
HE HAS LIMITED EXPERIENCE RECRUITING THE STATE OF FLORIDA
Ties to Florida will be of utmost importance when Norvell begins to assemble his staff, as FSU’s new head coach has little experience mining his new home for talent. He didn’t sign a single player from the state during his four-year run at Memphis, so there will be an adjustment period to the ins and outs of his new home state. Florida can be a tricky place to recruit, as a solid chunk of high-level prospects are closer to their trainers and 7-on-7 coaches than they are their high school staffs, making knowing the right people paramount. In order to recruit the Sunshine State, you need a roadmap of sorts. Norvell would be well served to hire a few people capable of providing one.
HE'S NEVER OVERSEEN A REBUILD
Norvell experienced great success at Memphis and it certainly didn’t happen by accident. That said, his new job is a much different beast. Memphis was coming off of a nine-win season when Norvell took over in 2016. Two years before his arrival, the Tigers went 10-3 and won a conference title. At FSU, Novell inherits a team that has gone a combined 11-13 the last two seasons on a campus with sky-high expectations. Maintaining success and sparking success are two different skill sets and nobody knows how the young head coach will do when he’s asked to do the latter.
